This invention relates to a basketball shooting aid device, and more particularly to a device for restraining the thumb of the off shooting or non-shooting hand of the basketball shooter or player against movement away from the other fingers of the non-shooting hand, in order to improve his shooting accuracy.
In the accurate shooting of a basketball, the ball is held in the palm of the strong or shooting hand of the basketball player, such as the right hand of a right-handed player. With the elbow of the shooting hand vertically beneath the hand, the shooting hand is lifted or pushed upward to project the ball accurately toward the basket. During the shooting action, the non-shooting hand or weak hand, such as the left hand of a left-handed basketball player, is usually held against the side of the ball to function as a guide during the early stages of lifting or projecting the ball upward. However, during such a shooting procedure, there is a tendency of the player to extend the thumb of his weak hand away from the other fingers in order to further guide, or even assist in lifting, the ball. Such a practice has been found to interrupt the accuracy of the shot. The non-shooting hand should be used only to balance the ball, and the entire non-shooting hand, including the thumb, should be released or removed from the ball during its early stages of projection.
In order to overcome the tendency to release the off-hand thumb too late, the basketball player must be constantly aware of this tendency and practice to avoid such practice, and/or the coach must direct his attention to the objectionable "thumbing" practice.
The only mechanical aid known to the Applicant for remedying this "thumbing" problem, is a shooting aid known as "PURE SHOT", which is commercially available, and which includes a rigid disc having an outer surface adapted to engage the ball during the shot, and an inner surface having an adjustable strap for securing the non-shooting hand against the inner surface of the disc. In the utilization of the "PURE-SHOT", there is no contact between the non-shooting hand of the player and the ball at any time, because the hand is completely separated from the ball by the disc.
Other basketball shooting or handling aids known to the Applicant, are disclosed in the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ 3,640,532 Bauer Feb. 8, 1972 3,707,730 Slider Jan. 2, 1973 4,377,284 Okerlin Mar. 22, 1983 4,383,685 Bishop May 17, 1983 ______________________________________
None of the above devices are constructed to restrain the thumb of the weak hand from engaging the basketball.
The Slider U.S. Pat. No. 3,707,730 discloses a basketball practice glove for use on the shooting hand of the basketball player, as opposed to the non-shooting hand. The glove covers all the hand except the tips of the fingers and the thumb. The glove is assisted in assuming a cupped position, so that only the fingers and thumbs of the shooting hand will touch the ball during the shooting operation. This cup-shaped position is sustained by a short finger strap looped about the thumb and extending only to and about the forefinger where it is attached by VELCRO fasteners. However, the Slider device is a glove, as opposed to a single elongated tape member having a loop at one end and VELCRO fasteners at the opposite end, and is certainly not used in restraining or immobilizing the thumb relative to the forefinger or any of the other fingers of the non-shooting hand of the basketball player. The Slider glove incorporates many superfluous elements unnecessary to the restraint of the thumb of the weak hand, and in fact, impairs the full use of the other fingers and the rest of the weak hand for other basketball functions, as well as for comfort.
The Eisenberg U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,376, issued Nov. 29, 1988, for "RETAINER FOR GLOVE" discloses a thumb pocket attached to a glove and secured by a strap to the wrist of the glove, in which the thumb pocket is articulated in order to receive and protect the thumb to prevent damage to certain ligaments of the thumb. The purpose of the Eisenberg device is to prevent the thumb from being bent away from the other fingers, such bending causing a stretching of the ulnar collateral ligament, and to prevent the ligament from rupturing. The Eisenberg thumb pocket is made of rigid material having one piece which is hinged to prevent normal function of the thumb joint. The Eisenberg thumb retainer for a glove could not successfully function in restraining the thumb of the weak hand of a basketball player and still permit the weak hand to perform its other normal functions of the basketball player.
The Wasko U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,559 for "HAND IMPLEMENT SUPPORT APPARATUS" issued Aug. 4, 1987, discloses an elongated, large tape member having a loop member at one end and VELCRO fasteners on opposite sides of the opposite end for use in supporting the wrist of a tennis player about the racket handle, by wrapping the wrist loosely about the racket handle. Moreover, and very functionally important for the operation of the Wasko device is the fact that the tape material is not only flexible, but must be resilient and elastic, in order to successfully carry out the function of the device. It is emphasized in col. 2, lines 35-37 that the flexible band is woven or knitted fabric having an elasticized loop of a size to receive and firmly grip the butt end of a racket handle. The wrapped band thus supplements the grip of the user on the racket handle by providing additional support while absorbing a portion of the reaction forces encountered in striking the tennis ball.
In col 3, lines 41-49 of the Wasko patent, the webb 12 is defined as having a loop of elastic material such as a length of rubberized elastic. In lines 50-53, it is stated that the loop material is elasticized because it must be stretched significantly to pass over the butt end of the racket handle.
The Wasko webb not only provides a support for the wrist, bust must also facilitate maneuvering to a variety of orientations, including frequent re-positioning of the racket for different grips by the user for forehand and backhand shots, (Col. 1, 11. 55-59; Col. 2, 11. 9-13).
The only sports implement referred to in the Wasko patent for use with the elastic support webb are sports rackets for tennis, squash, racketball, badminton, paddle tennis, or deck tennis, only.
The device disclosed in the Wasko U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,559, because of this highly elasticized material used in the webb material, would fail to adequately restrain and confine the thumb of the weak hand of a basketball player against lateral movement away from the other fingers.